Section 2-1.7. Presumption of death from absence; effect of exposure to

specific peril
    (a) A person who is absent for a continuous  period  of  three  years,
  during  which,  after  diligent  search,  he or she has not been seen or
  heard of or from, and whose  absence  is  not  satisfactorily  explained
  shall be presumed, in any action or proceeding involving any property of
  such  person,  contractual or property rights contingent upon his or her
  death or the administration of his or her estate,  to  have  died  three
  years  after  the  date  such  unexplained absence commenced, or on such
  earlier date as clear and convincing evidence establishes  is  the  most
  probable date of death.
    (b) The fact that such person was exposed to a specific peril of death
  may  be  a  sufficient  basis  for  determining  at  any time after such
  exposure that he or she died less than three years after the date his or
  her absence commenced.
    (c) The three-year period provided herein shall not apply in any  case
  in which a different period has been prescribed by statute.